Mute for violins and like musical instruments



Ma '29,192 s. V 1,671,871

L. M. PARDY Filed June 1, 1 925 &

11 1f Flc4' V 4 I I I 3 5 12 14- -'4. FIG.5. 5 s

[Jae/2%) 2; g I 79, Z g

l instrument, the said body being Patented May 29, 1928.

i 1,671,871 PATENT OFFICE.

. UNITED STATES Loors MAXWELL PARDY, or SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND.

MUTE FOR,VIOLINS ANDLIKE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Application filed June 1,1925, Serial No. 34,214, and in Great Britain June 5, 1924.

My invention relates to improvements in muting devices for violins, violoncellos and similar stringed musical instruments, 1n which means are provided for carrying or s holding the device on the instrument so as ,to be ready for use when required.

The objects of the present invention. are to facilitate the fixing of the muting device to the instrument, and the muting and unmuting of the strings in an efiicient manner. According to my invention, the muting body is of disk-like form eccentrically pivoted to act, inthe'1nanner.ot a cam, on a carrieradapted to grip the strings of the firmly but rotatably and frietionally held in said carrier, with its axis parallel to the bridge of the instrument, and having a finger or like means for turning it into and out of muting contact with the bridge by a finger of the bowing hand. The muting body bears against the tail-piece side of the bridge, and it may have a tagentially arranged finger to pass over the bridge and thereby grip the latter between the said body and said tangential finger so as to prevent displacement of the bridge in light instruments. A movement of about ninety degrees of the muting body brings it into or out of contact with the bridge.

In the accompanying drawings, which show one suitable form of construction of a violin mute made according to my inven tion, Figure 1. is a view partly in section and partly in side elevation, and Figure 2 is a plan view of a mute approximately one and a half times full size. Figure 2 is a bottom view of the mute, the parts being shown in the same position as in Figure 1. Figures 3 and 4, are respectively, a plan and elevation of an approximately full sized violin mute attached to the strings, the device being in its unmuted or free position. Figure 5 is a side elevation of the device attached to the violin strings and in its muted position.

Referring to the drawings, a carrier 1 is formed with a base or palm 2 and upwardly extending spaced cheeks 13, between which eccentrically mounted.- Secured to the palm 2 is an upwardly projecting screw-threaded stud 4 which'extends through an opening in a complementary plate or palm 5. The plate or palm 5 can be screwed down into clamping association with the palm 2 by means the disk-like muting body 3 is rotatably and of the milled nutti which is rotatably secured in the palm plate 5 and mounted on the screw-threaded stud 4, as shown in F igure 1. The two centre strings 7, 8 of a VlOllIl are clamped between. the plates or palms 2 and 5 as shown in Figures 3, 1 and ;5, there being no necessity to remove the strings when securing the device thereto.

A part of the periphery of the muting body 31s cut away as at 9 so that said bodyis well'clear of the bridge 10 when in the off position, and a finger or spring clip 11 is suitably attached to the muting body and extends tangentially to the periphery of said body adjacent one end of said cutaway portion, between which clip 11 and the periplr ery of the mute body 3 the bridge 10 is gripped. The clip 11 also forms a guide for the bridge when the mute body 3 is moved into active position as shown in Figure 5.

The mute body 3 has a'projecting part 12, preferably forming part of the spring clip 11, to serve as a finger piece for easily and quickly moving the mute body into and out of engagement with the bridge by a finger of the bowing hand, there being no necessity to remove the hand from the bow in so moving the mute body.

The disk-like cheek 13 on each side of the carrier 1 aflords good surface support and frictional rigidity to the muting body 3. One of the cheeks 13 has a projection 14 which is engaged by a member carried by the mute 3, shown in the drawings as the inner end of the clip 11, and this forms a stop for the mute 3 when in its oif position.

For large sizes of mutes say for cellos, the operating projection 12 may be formed integrally with the muting body 3. The tangential clip 11 may be dispensed with in the case of mutes for cellos and like instruments where the bridge is sufliciently rigid itself for the muting body 3 to be moved directly into contact with it without the necessity of a guide or support.

The hereinbefore described mute can be used in the ordinary way it for any reason it should be so desired, by keeping the attachment in an upturned position.

I claim:

1. A muting device for a stringed musical instrument having a bridge, said device comprising a pair of opposed members, means for rigidly clamping said members together against the portions'of the strings of an instrument which extend between the bridge with said bridge.

and the tail of the instrumenhand an eccentric pivoted on one of saidmembers'on an axis adapted to lie parallel to the bridge 7 of the instrument, saidne ocen tric being rotatable into and out-0'1"- engagement with that side of the'bridge-of theinstrument;which parallel arms extending upwa-rdly therefrom and one OfSfllCl arms hav ngastop, an eccentric rota-table between said arms into and ont of engagement With that side of the bridge of theginstrument which is adjacent the tail of the instrument, and means carriedby said eccentric and engageable With said stop foflimitirig the rotation of said eccentric When moved'out of engagement j 3. -;A muting device for astringed musical instrument having abridge, said device comprising a plate,'means for rigidly clamping said plate to the portions of the strings of theqinstrument .Whiclrextend between the bridgeand'the tail' of'the instrument, said plate having a pair of spaced arms extending upwardly therefrom, a member having a canrfacemounted ,to rotaterbetween said arms, and a clip extending tangentially of the high part of the cam face of said memher, said cam face and said clip being simultaneously movable into andout [of engagement with the side of the bridge adjacent side of said bridge, respectively".v

4. A muting deviceiaccording toclaim 3 'Whereinthe clip hasa fingeIT-piece= extending' therefrom.

5. A' muting device according ltovclaim 3' wherein one of the spaced arms hasa shoulder and the clip has aportionengageable with said shoulder for. limiting. the rotation the tail of the instrument and the opposite;

of the rotatable member infonecdirection.

LOUIS MAXWELL 'P RDY." 

